


monday to sunday

by icedmatchalatte



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Very domestic, renjun is suing their landlord
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23333368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedmatchalatte/pseuds/icedmatchalatte
Summary: Jeno thinks it’s very convenient that his apartment has an amazing(ly cheap) heating system. Not because winters have been getting colder lately, but because the one in his neighbor’s apartment is utterly shitty, and really, he’s just worried the guy will get frostbite.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 32
Kudos: 319





	monday to sunday

**Author's Note:**

> hello i had a vague idea for this thing for a while but then the dreamies released that vlog yesterday and we’re all in quarantine so i word vomited this
> 
> hope you enjoy! <3

The weather app on Jeno’s phone did alert him that it might snow the next morning, but there was absolutely no reason yet to be wearing two scarves and a — was that a ski jacket? — under a topcoat. As Jeno watched his neighbor tap through layers of clothing to presumably find the apartment keys, tongue click echoing in the corridor as the guy locked the door, he also wondered if it was actually him that was underdressed.

“The temperature sure is dropping, huh,” Jeno smiled as the other man waddled forward to wait for the elevator. When the guy looked up, Jeno thought maybe he shouldn’t have initiated any small talk at all, but the smile he managed to give Jeno almost fully hid the deep dark circles under his eyes. 

“You tell me,” he huffed “Hey, what’s your apartment again?”

“Oh, I’m the 506, right down the hall,” Jeno awkwardly pointed over his shoulder, even though they were now facing the closing elevator doors, the corridor in front of them instead. The guy pursed his lips in acknowledgement, as nodding seemed to be quite the feat with the way his neck was wrapped up. “Lee Jeno,” he added in afterthought. 

“Huang Renjun. I’m new to the 502,” he let out a dry laugh “Though I think this might’ve not been the best time to move,” a sigh “Are you, uh, do you have any problems with the heater in your unit?”

Jeno furrowed his brow. Was that why the guy looked like a walking winter closet? “No, not really. Works just fine?” Jeno was aware it sounded like a question, but he was also expecting his neighbor to elaborate on that. 

“Huh,” but there was no elaborating, after all, “Well, lucky you, Lee Jeno,” another smile, large enough to hide the dark circles this time “And nice meeting you,” the way his neighbor waved under the layers of clothing looked more like hurried jumping jacks, and Jeno took some seconds waving back to hide his laugh. It was only when Renjun disappeared around the corner of the street that Jeno noticed he hadn’t moved from the front of their building at all, still smiling, still waving. 

“Laundry day?” Jeno held the elevator doors open for Renjun to enter. His neighbor’s head popped up from the mountain of clothes he was holding, hair disheveled. 

“Oh, hi,” his cheeks had a faint blush, and he sounded slightly out of breath. “It’s Jeno, right?” Jeno nodded and Renjun sighed, glaring at the pieces he was holding as if they had personally offended him. “Don’t even remind me about laundry day, seriously. I’ve got _so_ many jackets I need washed.”

Jeno raised an eyebrow. “Did you just go shopping then?”

“Hah,” Renjun grimaced “No, these are, well these are the jackets I gotta wear everyday until I get to class. It’s just annoying because I have to carry them around the whole day after that.” 

Jeno hummed in response, but refrained from asking another question. He felt like every time he bumped into Renjun he was always somehow interrogating the guy. It didn’t really help that his neighbor never seemed able to give full, complete answers, talking to Jeno as if they were continuing a conversation they never really had. When the doors opened to the fifth floor, Jeno was ready to wave goodbye and avoid the awkward silence that was building up due to the lack of questions and half answers, but before he could raise his hand for a lifeless wave, Renjun sweared under his breath and marched towards 502. Jeno bit his tongue to once again hold back from asking what was wrong, but Renjun decided to give him context this time. 

“Jeno? Sorry, could you hold this for a second?” He chuckled “You just reminded me about doing laundry and I don’t wanna put these on the floor and get them dirty too,” Jeno just extended his arms for Renjun to put the pile of clothes in, expecting that his neighbor needed free hands to look for his keys to open the apartment, but when he instead started picking piece by piece from Jeno’s arms and putting them on, Jeno really couldn’t stop himself.

“What are you doing?”

Renjun laughed, embarrassed. “It’s literally freezing inside. I gotta be prepared,” he shrugged. Or at least that’s what it looked like, but Renjun could’ve also been adjusting jacket number three, and Jeno had a realization. 

“Ah, wait, so when you asked about my heater the other day—”

“If it was because I was having problems with mine?” Renjun scrunched his nose, putting a beanie on “Yeah, and it’s been pretty shitty.”

“You talked to the landlord yet? I actually think he’s in town this month, you could have him take a look,” but it seemed like the opposite of the right thing to say, because Renjun’s expression soured in a second. 

“I signed my lease through his son, actually, and I think he’s blocked my number and listed my e-mail as spam by now, from how much I’ve complained. Haven’t heard a word back from the guy this whole week.”

Jeno whistled. “Holy shit,” he scratched the back of his neck, not knowing what to say. “So sorry, man,” but Renjun still stood there awkwardly, not moving to get inside the apartment, and Jeno felt the urge to keep talking. “I actually— I have Mr. Zhong’s number? And his wife’s number and e-mail too, for when he or his son don’t answer,” Renjun snorted, and Jeno tapped his pockets for his phone before he lost the momentum — or the courage. “Hey, why don’t you give me your number? I can send you all of their contact info.”

Renjun stared at Jeno for a long moment, and Jeno felt a bit stupid holding out his phone like that. For someone who spoke in half sentences and expected to be understood, Renjun surely could read the intention behind Jeno’s words. But the moment passed, and Renjun dipped his head, rolling back the edges of his longest sleeves to grab the phone, and Jeno felt himself smile. 

“There. I saved my last name as 502, if it helps,” Renjun grinned, and took a swaying step back, keys jingling in his hands. Jeno raised his phone in place of a nod as his neighbor unlocked the door, and turned towards his own apartment. Once the keys were in, Renjun called from down the corridor, just his head with the grey beanie peaking out of the door. “Thanks, by the way! I’ll see you around?” Jeno made an okay with his hand, to which Renjun enthusiastically answered with an okay himself, head disappearing back into 502. Jeno shook his head, smiling, and pushed the door to 506 open. 

_hey, heard you were ghosting the new tenant_

**on god jeno i’m gonna block you too**

_chill, will you_

_just wanted to let you know i told him he could have your parents contact info_

**do you want me dead? is that what you want?**

_well then, maybe unblock him?_

**dude’s relentless jeno i literally cant take it everyone and their grandma’s heaters break in this side of the town during winter and there’re NO slots available to have it fixed that fast i really am trying**

_you should be telling him that, not me, though_

**oh suck it jeno**

**pretty sure i’ve told him four times already**

**the thing’s gonna be fixed when it can be fixed**

_the guy looks like he’s wearing his whole wardrobe, i know you could try to speed things up a bit_

There was a pause, Chenle’s typing bubble appearing and then disappearing, and Jeno threw himself on the couch, already feeling warm in his turtle neck. He was honestly so glad he wasn’t the one having to deal with Chenle to have his heater fixed, and would keep that in mind if it ever malfunctioned in the future.

**OH**

**oh i see how it is**

**renjun is just your type isn’t he**

**why don’t you go offer yourself as his cuddling buddy if he’s so goddamn cold and leave me tf alone**

_rude_

**you’re not denying though**

_whatever. you should go back to your geography homework or something_

**IM A COMP SCI SOPHOMORE**

Jeno checked his phone again for what felt like the thirtieth time in ten minutes. It’s just that Renjun said he’d text him once he got back to the building. Over the course of the past week, Jeno had learned that this meant he’d get a text sometime between five fifteen and five forty-five in the afternoon, since Renjun was working part-time at a bookstore — where Jeno might or might not have stopped by twice already, but hey, he had been invited by his new neighbor for coffee — some twenty minutes away taking the N bus, and usually got off work a little before five. When Jeno picked up his phone again, he realized just how much of a stalker he would sound like if he said all that out loud, and meekly put his phone down with a sigh. 

He was worried, though. Sure, he’d only properly known Renjun for the better part of the past couple of weeks, but it was still a valid concern. For a guy who seemed unaware of how to maintain a conversation in person, Renjun had turned out to be quite the texter, and Jeno no longer had to deal with half answers and the burden of not letting the conversation die out. Still, that only meant he felt like finally getting close to his new neighbor. 

And so with the image of tired steps dragging padded coats, of sickly pale cheeks even in sunny mornings, of a smile that no longer made deep dark circles disappear, Jeno felt like his worry was completely justified. So what if the guy was also Jeno’s type? That wasn’t the only reason he’d gotten interested in Renjun’s wellbeing, but he also didn’t need to make any other excuses as to why he should be meddling. Damn Chenle and damn Chenle’s short temper that turned Jeno into a carrier pigeon of his messages to Renjun because he refused to unblock the guy. How was he supposed to peacefully sort out and come to terms with his feelings if he was now constantly around their very source?

Jeno tapped on his screen. It was already 7:20PM, and he really should be getting started on dinner if he wanted to make any final edits on his paper, but Renjun hadn’t texted yet. And he always did. 

Clicking his tongue, Jeno picked up his coat and decided he’d get something from the deli down the street, otherwise he’d end up burning whatever dinner he made, with how much he was zoning out. He definitely wasn’t hoping to bump into Renjun in the lobby or on the street on his way there. Definitely.

But Jeno’s train of thought was cut short before he could even lock his own door. Because curled up against the wall between 501 and 502, Renjun was sitting on the floor drowning in a tiny ball of coats. Jeno did a double take before approaching in careful steps. 

“Are you... okay?” Miserable. If there was any word to describe Renjun’s expression as he looked up, it would be miserable. A sigh. 

“For now, yeah,” and on the silence that followed Jeno had forgotten just how curt Renjun’s spoken answers could be. He no longer cared if he sounded annoyed by that, and figured if he needed Renjun to elaborate, he shouldn’t expect anything and instead be the one asking about it. 

“What does that mean?” Jeno crouched down “Were you not okay before, or—”

“I can’t go inside my apartment, Jeno. It’s,” a shaky intake of breath “It’s fucking freezing.”

A moment passed, and Jeno really didn’t mean to let out the snort he did. Renjun glared at him, and he had to hide a smile by leaning his chin on his hand. 

“It’s honestly not funny. I’m considering spending the night in this goddamn corridor because it’s actually a hundred times warmer than my room,” he wanted to tease Renjun, which how over dramatic his neighbor was, but Jeno also knew that he would have already packed his things and asked a friend to stay over if they hadn’t fixed his heater on the second night already. 

Wait a minute. 

Jeno looked at Renjun again, head tilted, deep in thought. His neighbor’s cheeks and the tip of his nose were of a faint pink, brow furrowed and mouth hidden behind the zipper of coat number two. Slouched against the wall, hood of his padded coat serving as an improvised pillow — it looked like he had been sitting there for quite a while, with no intention of moving. It was worth a shot. 

“Do you want to— do you want to come into my apartment for a bit?” Renjun’s head snapped up “You can warm yourself up for a bit to handle another night in your freezer, I mean,” and Jeno was only partially aware of how that sounded. It’s not like they were close enough for inviting one another over — not yet at least, not after only a handful of accidental meetings and a week of sporadic texts, that had mostly to do with Jeno discouraging Renjun from suing Chenle. They still knew the absolute bare minimum about each other, save from the fact that Renjun was a Classics major at a small campus branch from a foreign university, that he worked part time not out of necessity, but instead to buy painting supplies, that he always answered the phone in Chinese first, and that he only moved in such a rush during winter because his ex-roommate decided to go back to his hometown for a year. There was also the fact that Jeno not only knew where Renjun lived, but also knew where all pieces of furniture were placed in his apartment — though that sounded creepy and wrong enough for Jeno to not mention it (even if that was only because the Zhongs decorated all apartments the exactly same way). Alas, Renjun was still a very smart guy who wouldn’t just go into anybody’s apartment, even a neighbor’s, and suddenly Jeno felt horribly dumb for—

“Okay,” but neither moved. 

“Okay?”

Renjun nodded. “Okay,” he got up, knees cracking audibly, and shook off the dust from the back of his outer coat. Jeno only nodded to himself, and absentmindedly went through the motions of unlocking his door, and telling Renjun where he could hang his coats. 

It was only when he handed Renjun a mug to be dried that the events of that night properly dawned on Jeno. Watching his neighbor methodically put back on his coats, beanie and gloves, Jeno found that he didn’t mind having someone over at half past midnight on a Monday night, even if he had a 9AM lecture the next day. Jeno found that he didn’t mind staying in and cooking, even if he had already decided to get something fast from the deli down the street. Jeno found that he didn’t mind having someone intruding in his kitchen, and throwing unrequested pieces of advice on how to make his stew. Found that he didn’t mind having a company for dinner that wouldn’t stop talking even if he had discussion based lectures all day already. That he didn’t mind someone putting their feet with colorful socks on his couch’s armrest, that he didn’t mind sharing dishwashing duty. And with his neighbor half out of the door, cheeks now rosy from the warmth of a heater instead of the cold and biding him goodnight, Jeno found that maybe he didn’t mind because it was Renjun who was doing those things. 

**you home yet?**

_still on the bus_

_be there in five_

**kay kay, i’ll be here in the deli til then**

“You’re disgusting,” Jisung complained, and Jeno only put his phone down to be able to aggressively ruffle Jisung’s hair. “Stop smiling at your phone like that, no one wants to see it,” he swatted one of Jeno’s hand away and ducked from the other as best as he could without falling. 

Jeno cleared his throat. “Not smiling.”

“Yeah, whatever you say,” but neither Jisung’s tone nor his raised eyebrow indicated that he would let Jeno live that one down. Jeno had truly never been so glad to reach his stop as he was when Jisung’s expression changed and his friend got ready to get on his nerves again. 

“Save it,” Jeno clasped a hand on Jisung’s shoulder as he went around the boy to reach the exit “I’m off now!”

“Don’t forget that we’re having lunch with Jaemin tomorrow! The dinning hall!” Jeno made a motion for silence as he stepped out of the bus, and Jisung pressed his middle finger against the window, voice now muffled “I’m serious!”

Jeno mockingly saluted Jisung as the bus took off, and he was sure that the notification he got seconds later was some rather creative word choice from his friend, so he didn’t bother picking the phone up. Instead, Jeno made a beeline for the small deli a couple of stores away. The place was small, fitting six tables on a good day and four on not so good ones, a long display counter on one wall and fake wooden wallpaper on the other. So when Jeno stopped by the glass outside the shop to nervously fix his hair, he was properly confused to not see Renjun inside. No matter how he looked at it, his neighbor wasn’t any of the only three customers huddling over one table, or the single staff behind the counter. 

“What are you doing?” the voice came from his left, amused, as hands latched onto his elbow.

Jeno focused on swallowing back smile threatening to spread across his face. “You told me you were waiting inside?”

“I just messaged you that I was in the lobby,” Renjun giggled “But it was pretty funny to watch you go back and forth in front of the store,” and had it been anybody else, Jeno would have a snarky comment ready on the tip of his tongue. With Renjun, though, he felt like smiling at his own silliness, arm heavy with the comfortable pull of another body as they crossed the street. 

Sometimes, Jeno thought he could understand Renjun’s constant complaints of the cold. Granted, he wasn’t the one with a broken heater in the middle of winter, but he did have some problems with his own past autumn, and was only mildly upset. Nothing that a few extra blankets and a borrowed ski jacket couldn’t fix. But when Renjun let go of his arm so Jeno could open the door to 506, he felt colder than he had the right to be, with a woolen sweater and a topcoat, on a room with temperature control. He was just glad to see Renjun stride right in as if he owned the place, and Jeno figured he really didn’t have the right to feel cold after all. 

It was easy to share his tiny kitchen with Renjun. Renjun, who on the third consecutive day of spending the evening at Jeno’s apartment already set the table unprompted, opening all the right cabinets. Watching Renjun saunter in and out of the kitchen, stopping occasionally to taste the dinner menu, absentmindedly chatting about his day all the while, Jeno felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the controlled room temperature. It was different to be this comfortable with a — not stranger, but colleague? Friend? Also didn’t sound right — invading his personal space for so long. 

Jeno just thought it was very convenient that his apartment had such an amazingly cheap heating system that worked wonders. But Chenle’s text kept coming up on the back of Jeno’s mind, and he wondered if it really was because it felt good to be doing a good deed for a neighbor, or because it felt good being needed by Renjun. It could be both, Jeno argued with himself, and neither at the same time. He could be just concerned that his neighbor would get frostbite. The fact that his neighbor just so happened to be his type was a happy coincidence that aligned Jeno’s will to do something good for someone with feeling good for being dependable to someone he wanted to impress. 

He just also wondered whether there was anything to impress. At all. Renjun had been looking less pale the past few days; didn’t vibrate from the cold at the slightest gush of wind, was wearing fewer, lighter jackets, but his dark circles didn’t improve. If anything, it was now Jeno who had to worry about his own dark circles, what with Renjun staying over for increasingly long periods of time. 

So when midnight came and passed, the minutes inching towards one in the morning, Jeno made up his mind. As much as he genuinely enjoyed talking about everything and nothing at all with Renjun, he also had a 9AM on most days of the week, and he couldn’t hide his yawns anymore. So when he caught Renjun staring at his yawn and guiltily wincing, slowly gathering his stuff to leave, Jeno held his wrist before he could get up. 

“You know, you could stay,” and once again, Jeno was partially aware of how that sounded, but now he could blame it on his tiredness. “I could get you an extra blanket, and you could have the couch,” Renjun was staring now, and Jeno was quick to add “If you wanted. I mean.”

Renjun was still staring, and so Jeno got up from the couch and busied himself with rearranging the chairs around the table just to pretend he had something to do. Then he heard rustling from the couch, and Renjun cleared his throat.

“Okay,” Jeno turned back, and Renjun wasn’t looking at him anymore, the tips of his ears bright pink. “If that’s okay with you, yeah, I would like it.”

“S-sure, okay,” Jeno scratched the back of his neck “Yeah, it’s no problem. I’ll just—” he vaguely pointed towards his own room, but the gestures didn’t seem quite right, so Jeno clasped his hands together “I’ll get you some blankets and a pillow,” but then Renjun smiled, and Jeno felt lighter, any lingering awkwardness gone. Renjun smiled, and it felt like a _thank you_ , and maybe the fluffy blankets in his arms that Renjun organized over the couch weren’t really enough to impress anyone, but Jeno finally felt in peace with his conscience for having found a way to properly help. 

“Hey,” Jeno shook Renjun’s visible shoulder lightly. Renjun groaned, burrowing his face into the pillow, and Jeno refrained from punching a hole through the wall from the sheer cuteness of the scene. Instead, he shook Renjun’s shoulder again. “Renjun? Renjun, it’s ten already,” Renjun’s eyes flew open at that, and he sat up to an eerily straight posture for someone who had just woken up.

“In the morning?” There was a pause, and Jeno doubled over, laughter too loud in the small room. 

“What do you think?” He breathed in, and Renjun huffed, offended, but eventually settled on a soft smile. 

“I don’t know,” he commented while standing up to help Jeno fold the blankets “This was the best sleep I had in _ages_. I think I had forgotten what not waking up in the middle of the night from the cold felt like,” Renjun fell silent, and Jeno looked up when he felt no blanket in his outstretched hand. His neighbor was hugging the folded blanket tightly, a faraway expression on his face, but eyes locked on Jeno’s. He stepped closer, and Jeno straightened up, not knowing what to do with himself with the sudden proximity. Renjun came yet one step closer, and Jeno held his breath. From this distance, Renjun had to look slightly up at Jeno, eyes quickly going back and forth, scanning Jeno’s face. His hands made wrinkles on the blanket. “Thank you. Not for,” a deep breath “Not just for letting me stay. We haven’t known each other for long, but you’ve given me the most help I’ve received in a while, and I just— thank you,” Jeno opened his mouth to say that really, it was really nothing, but Renjun held a finger up “It takes a lot to let a stranger into your home like this, I mean. A lot of trust. And I’ve been imposing on you for half a week now, and you’ve said nothing yet, but I don’t think I’ve thanked you enough. And I’m serious. I really— I’m really grateful for what you’ve done,” Renjun’s fingers loosened the grip on the blanket, and Jeno softly took it out of his hold, just to find something to do with his hands, and mostly to have an excuse to lower his head and hide the furious blush on his face. 

“Anytime. This was nothing, you don’t need to thank me like that,” but Renjun held onto Jeno’s wrist, and he was forced to look his neighbor in the eyes again.

“I’m serious, Jeno.”

“I know you are,” Jeno took a step back. Then another, and another, playing it off as going to put the blanket away, before Renjun’s hand on his wrist could feel the absolute spike on his pulse. Jeno felt light; he felt like smiling from ear to ear, felt like throwing a fist in the air, felt like making a fool of himself dancing on the carpet. He felt like holding Renjun’s face close with both hands, and felt like telling his neighbor he’d do it all again, for him. So Jeno settled on putting that last blanket inside a drawer, and turned back with crossed arms, hips resting on the doorframe. While he figured he couldn’t — hopefully couldn’t _yet_ — hold Renjun’s face close like he wanted too, he could still say how he felt out loud. “But I was also serious when I said that, really, anytime.”

There was a knock on Jeno’s door. It’s not that he was someone easily alarmed, but, well, most of his friends lived on campus, a fair number of blocks away. Chenle always buzzed the intercom whenever he stopped by. In fact, he usually also texted before doing that, as did all of Jeno’s friends that had his address. He hadn’t ordered delivery, because he had breakfast even before waking Renjun up, and was about to leave for lunch with Jisung and Jaemin. So, really, no one could fault Jeno for being rooted to the spot when there was a second knock, backpack already over his shoulder, hand halfway to his keys on the kitchen counter. 

Did they have the right apartment?

He did a quick rundown of the possibilities. It was a Thursday morning, so it couldn’t be a surprise visit from his parents, who still lived a couple of hours away by plane. Much less from his sister, attending grad school abroad. His friends were already out of question — no Gen Z would show up unannounced like that. His landlord always scheduled his visits, and though his son didn’t, Chenle was still a Gen Z. So, really, what the heck?

Jeno considered staying frozen like that until the person who was knocking left, but he didn’t know how long it would take, and if he didn’t leave in a few minutes, he’d be late for lunch. The person knocked a third time. Jeno sighed, grabbed his keys, and sent out a quick prayer to not let himself be mugged or killed just yet. 

Behind the door, though, fist raised to probably knock a forth time, was a rather disheveled Renjun. “Oh, oh good! I was just starting to think you left already,” Jeno took a second to process the scene. Renjun had changed clothes since leaving Jeno’s apartment, but for the first time in a while, wasn’t gratuitously wearing what looked liked his entire wardrobe outside. Instead, the thin varsity jacket, his only current piece of outerwear, was crooked and unzipped, as if Renjun had left his apartment in a hurry. Jeno’s heart did a full loop.

“What... did you forget something inside?”

“No,” Renjun’s smile was full, no dark circles to hide “No, I was just— I have a lecture today at my downtown campus, and it’s pretty close to your university, so I thought maybe,” a breath “We could grab lunch? Together? I wanna repay you for letting me intrude all the time, so it’s on me.”

“Oh, well, I,” _have lunch with my best friends that I haven’t seen together in a while_ “You don’t have anything to repay, I told you already.”

Renjun suddenly reached forward, both hands holding Jeno’s free one. “I know, I know. But please— I feel like I owe you. So, let me just do this?”

It felt unfair, the way Renjun looked up at him, a large smile still plastered on his face. With flushed cheeks and messy hair, this was also the healthiest Jeno had seen Renjun in the short time they had known each other, and his neighbor seemed to glow. It felt unfair, his hand unnaturally warm between Renjun’s, their closeness, and Renjun’s expectant look. The most unfair of it all was that Renjun was probably completely unaware of how unfair it all was to Jeno. So Jeno sighed, unwillingly releasing the hand Renjun was holding to lock the door behind him while sending out a text.

 **je:** raincheck? sorry, something came up

 **jae:** :ꓷꓷ wdymmm

 **ji:** motherfucker, i already left my apt

**you leaving for winter break this year?**

_don’t know yet, why?_

**dad wants to stop by to check all the apartments on the floor a couple of weeks before people start leaving for the holidays**

**if this sunday works for you, i could stop by and take you out of the list already**

“Jeno!” Renjun’s distressed voice came from the kitchen “The thing you’re cooking is boiling! Is it supposed to make these many bubbles?”

“Yeah! Leave it be, I have a timer!”

Something felt cold on his cheek, and he turned slightly to see the glass of water Renjun was holding against his face. Jeno accidentally grabbed the glass with his dominant hand, and struggled to send Chenle a reply. “What are you up to?”

_sure, Sunday works_

“Chenle’s gonna drop by on Sunday,” Jeno scratched the back of his neck “I think they want to have enough time to settle any issues before anyone leaves for the holiday and comes back with complaints about the apartment,” he locked his phone and stared at Renjun, a moment of sudden clarity. “Hey, you can corner him by then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ll let you know what time he’ll be here and you can finally properly talk to him about fixing your heater,” but Jeno stopped short of smiling when Renjun avoided his eyes and focused on his own glass of water. Had he said something wrong? Jeno thought that would be a prime opportunity for getting things sorted out. Surely Renjun must have missed sleeping on his own bed instead of Jeno’s couch. Or was his relationship with the landlord’s son somehow beyond repair? Jeno made a mental note to warn Chenle about possible lawsuits coming from 502. 

“Oh, that.”

Renjun didn’t look up, brooding while swirling the water inside his cup. To say Jeno was confused was a huge understatement. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“No, yeah, it totally is,” Renjun put his glass down on the table and the sharp sound echoed in the living room. He sighed and stood up, putting his jacket on and tapping his pockets “I’m gonna get some things from my apartment.”

“Wait,” Jeno stood up quickly “You’re staying over today too, right?” 

Renjun paused before opening the door, and turned back to Jeno, a soft smile on his face again. This time, though, it felt fleeting and delicate. For some reason, Jeno’s heart felt heavy. “Yeah, I am. Of course I am.”

There was probably a line that separated each stage of a relationship with someone. Maybe it had different distances for different people, and maybe they were all based on subjective thresholds, but Jeno was sure that the changes should be tangible whenever you crossed that line — or that maybe there was supposed to be a brief moment of epiphany whenever a line was crossed. 

But with Renjun it was just that. Subjective. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the guy had been a constant fixture in Jeno’s apartment since that Monday evening, and six days with an unplanned housemate (who not only happened to be just your type, but also a witty, hard working, and good hearted person) could do things to you. 

So when Renjun sat back on Jeno’s couch that Saturday morning, a bowl of cereal precariously placed on his knees as he pulled his socked feet up to rest on the coffee table, Jeno was sure he missed all the moments where lines were crossed to reach that stage. They hadn’t bothered to put Renjun’s blankets away — was he already calling his own spare blankets Renjun’s now? — since that Wednesday night, as Renjun hadn’t slept a night in his own apartment since. A couple of Renjun’s favorite mugs were now in Jeno’s kitchen; there were two sets of toothbrushes in his bathroom, half of the hooks behind the door now occupied with some of Renjun’s winter jackets. Renjun’s pajamas consisted of his own sweatpants paired with one of Jeno’s older t-shirts, and the day before he had bought packs of chocolate milk, now sitting in Jeno’s fridge and in their cereal bowls — which Renjun had coerced Jeno to try having with fruit loops for breakfast. 

Jeno didn’t even eat breakfast on weekends. He would wake up at noon and have lunch at three, then call Jisung to let his friend know he was tired from cooking all week and would have dinner at his dorm. But suddenly it was eleven in the morning of a Saturday, and Jeno was sitting in his pajamas on the couch that a neighbor he’d first met only a couple of weeks ago had been sleeping in, eating colorful cereal with chocolate milk, and he was okay with that. 

Renjun was excitedly talking about the plot development of the foreign cartoon on the TV, mouth full and spoon a breath away from falling on the carpet, and Jeno couldn’t stop staring. At his neighbor’s unkempt hair, the rolled edges of his sweatpants, his big gestures and birthmark and thin wrists, half moon eyes without a trace of dark circles. He couldn’t stop staring.

“What?” Renjun laughed “Is there something on my face?”

Jeno smiled, turning his attention back to the TV. “No,” and Jeno didn’t elaborate on that, but Renjun still smiled back, lightly elbowing him on the ribs, and promptly moving closer, resting his head on Jeno’s shoulder as the commercial break came on. He wondered just at which point he had started giving half answers too, speaking in unfinished sentences just like Renjun, and at which point his neighbor seemed to start understanding all the words he left out. With Renjun’s head resting on his shoulder, Renjun’s back along his outstretched arm, Jeno asked himself if it was normal to go from absolute strangers to whatever it was that they were now in such a short time. 

“No, nuh-uh, I got this,” Renjun stole the check from Jeno’s hands before he could put it out of reach.

“Why though,” Jeno whined “I told you, you don’t owe me anything.”

Renjun hummed, as if not really listening, and put his card inside the leather booklet. “And I’m not doing this because I owe you. I asked you to get lunch with me, and so I should be the one paying.”

“Bullshit,” Jeno muttered and Renjun laughed, full bodied, enough for Jeno to not be able to suppress a smile himself. “I told you I don’t eat at home on weekends anyway.”

Drumming his fingers on the table, Renjun let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Okay, why don’t we do this,” he leaned in “We go out tonight, and you buy my drinks?”

Jeno’s heart seemed to sync with the rhythm of Renjun’s fingers on the table, and for a moment he ran out of breath. Looking at his neighbor from under his fringe, Jeno considered what the most appropriate answer to when the guy you like asks you out was. He cleared his throat, also leaning in “It’s a promise.”

They hadn’t planned this out. They hadn’t even considered that having their first drink at seven would mean that there were still six hours until the N bus stopped running, and so that meant they had six full hours to keep drinking. Jeno did end up keeping his promise to pay for Renjun’s drinks, but somewhere around 10PM and their third pub, he forgot which card belonged to who, and some beers might end up being billed to his neighbor after all. 

He didn’t have his glasses on, but doubted that would help at all with his alcohol blurred vision, even if he wanted to fully capture the image of Renjun running in front of him, from who knows what, with the city lights casting neon shadows on his form. Jeno did memorize Renjun’s melodic laughter, though, as they stumbled up the narrow stairs to a shady karaoke joint. But a whirlwind of music and stupidly big plastic props and echoing mics, of recording various takes on the different ways of opening a soju bottle and how to drink them all, of crowded streets and searching looks and holding hands, the events of the night all started blending into one. 

Jeno wasn’t sure of most of the things he had said that night after 9PM. But as they stumbled back into Jeno’s apartment, uncertain footsteps and not really knowing who was carrying who, he had a sudden moment of clarity when Renjun tried getting up after dumping Jeno’s sluggish form on the bed. Reaching out, fists balling on the edge of Renjun’s jacket, Jeno’s words came out hurried and desperate “Stay.”

“Huh?” And Renjun was clearly faring no better than Jeno, compromised balance making him have to hold out both hands to the wall to keep standing up, but the silence that followed was sobering for the both of them. “Yeah, I am, the couch’s all settled already.”

“No,” Jeno’s voice was small, and he spent a moment staring at Renjun, but figured there was too much alcohol in both of their systems for his neighbor to be able to pick out what he meant with that useless half answer. So Jeno breathed in, lightly tugging the edge of Renjun’s jacket. “Here. Stay here. With me.”

The following silence was no longer sobering — it was deafening. Almost as if they were both holding their breaths, waiting for the other to break it. Jeno didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but then Renjun looked down and away, and Jeno could feel his heart get lodged in his throat, and tears rush to his eyes. Where had he gone wrong?

But then Renjun took off his jacket, and pushed Jeno’s torso. “Make room for me, then,” he grumbled, a pout, and in that split second, Jeno could feel it. The crossing of a threshold. So he pulled Renjun in, laughing loudly at the breathless huff he let out, and burrowed his face into his neighbors hair, arms wrapped tightly around him, until Renjun started hitting Jeno’s shoulders “Let me— I can’t breathe—” so Jeno pulled away, though not entirely. Just enough so they could look at each other, and Renjun made himself comfortable, lying his head on Jeno’s arm. 

He thought he might have muttered a soft goodnight, but it might also have been Renjun who did. The only thing Jeno knew for sure, was that he fell asleep with Renjun by his side. 

Jeno regretted not putting his phone on silent when Chenle sent about a thousand messages. All he wanted was to peacefully nurse his hangover and bask in the glorious feeling of having had spent a whole night next to Renjun, even if his neighbor had to leave early in the morning to submit a physical copy of his thesis proposal. Still, even if Chenle had known these two things, he wouldn’t have cared any less, and thus Jeno’s phone kept beeping. 

“What do you want?”

“Is this Jeno?” Chenle sounded confused. Jeno put the phone on speaker and rested his head on the cold tabletop. 

“Weren’t you the one who called me?”

“Sheesh man, alright,” Chenle huffed “Just wanted to let you know that I’m on my way, you know, just in case you have some last minute cleaning to do,” Jeno nodded, forehead dragging on the table, and belatedly realized Chenle couldn’t see him. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Jeno ended the call without waiting for a reply, sighed in content over the absolute lack of sound, and downed the third full glass of water in twenty minutes. He also might’ve fallen asleep right there, because the next thing Jeno knew was that his doorbell was ringing, and there was a puddle of drool on the table.

“You look like death.”

“Good morning to you too, Chenle,” Jeno rubbed his eyes as Chenle took off his shoes and coat by the door.

“It’s two in the afternoon, but whatever you say,” and dropped his backpack on Jeno’s dinner table, looking for an inspection form. “Why don’t you go take a shower to try looking more alive, and I’ll get started with this?”

What Jeno really wanted was to curl up on the carpet and sleep until his 9AM on Tuesday, but Chenle pushed him all the way into the bathroom and forcefully closed the door. He really didn’t have the mental capacity to think about Chenle rummaging through his things outside, and so decided to take a steaming shower, focusing on not falling asleep under the shower stream instead. 

Once he got fully dressed and entered the living room, Jeno felt a strange sense of misplaced guilt, seeing Chenle sitting prim and proper on his armchair like a parent waiting to reprimand their child. Frozen in place, Jeno quickly ran through all minimal details that could’ve gotten him in trouble with the landlord’s son, but besides a chip on his bedroom window, he thought everything was fine. 

“Hey Jeno,” Chenle started, cautious “You know that if someone moves in with you, we have to put their information in the lease too, right?”

Jeno was probably missing the point, but he still was absolutely lost. “Of course?”

“Then if you could send over a copy of their documents in this list I—”

“Chenle, I live alone?” And now it was Chenle that looked mildly shocked. 

“Jeno, buddy, your rent won’t increase at all for that. We really just need their info for legal reasons.”

“Yeah, and I’m still the only one living here? I don’t get what you mean.”

Chenle frowned. “Jeno, there are shoes by the door that are visibly smaller than yours. You suddenly have sets of matching cutlery and plates. There’s painting tools everywhere, and I know you can’t paint for shit. Your couch is set up more like an actual bed than your own, and— two sets of toothbrushes in your bathroom?” He shook his head, as the realization slowly downed on Jeno “I don’t care about your new roommate at all, man. I just gotta have them on the lease.”

A second passed, and Jeno bursted out laughing. Chenle looked at him like he’d finally lost his mind, but Jeno couldn’t speak yet, doubling over, literal tears in his eyes. “Oh no,” Jeno patted his stomach, trying to breathe properly “No, no, I don’t have a roommate. No, listen,” Jeno took a deep breath, and sat on the couch-bed in front of Chenle “Do you remember the guy from 502? We’ve gotten close, so I’ve been letting him stay over until his heater gets fixed, that’s all.”

Chenle was still frowning. “502? Until it gets fixed?” Jeno nodded, and Chenle tilted his head, a look of absolute disbelief mixed with utter confusion. “Jeno, we got Huang’s heater fixed this Wednesday though? If he’s having problems with it again, he should’ve contacted us so we can trash that and install a new one.”

“On Wednesday?”

“Yeah, you might’ve been in class, because it was a whole ordeal. Like, super loud. People from the fourth floor came over to check and stuff,” Chenle started packing the inspection forms, and stapled a copy for Jeno “They like, basically dismantled that old thing and put it back together, but I stayed back with Huang for a few hours and the heater was working just fine?”

Jeno went through the motions of putting the files Chenle left away mechanically. He pretended to hear Chenle’s newest stories from university, and absentmindedly bid him goodbye sometime later. Then he sat back on the dinner table, and stared at his couch-turned-bed for a while, so many thoughts spinning through his mind that he couldn’t properly mull about any. 

On Wednesday. Renjun’s heater had been working just fine since Wednesday. Jeno didn’t even need to think that hard about what had happened four days before — three back to back lectures, a bus ride home with Jisung, Renjun being actually outside the deli. An essay outline drafted with the help of his 502 neighbor, half a movie watched and dinner with Renjun. Feeling antsy, fidgety, awkward silences and asking whether Renjun wouldn’t like to stay over, actually. A couch transformed into a bed, and a sleepless night in his own, because Renjun was right there, just on the other room. 

Why would Renjun choose to sleep on a relatively shitty university student’s couch instead of in his own bed, finally with actual room temperature for the first time in weeks?

_hey, what time will you be done?_

Why did he stay over? 

**professor was there, i got an impromptu thesis advising session lolll**

Not only that, but why would have he kept doing so until now?

**i’m actually almost back, i just dropped by a bakery near my campus to get u that new dessert i was talking about the other day**

And why didn’t he tell Jeno about his heater already being fixed?

_okay, let me know when you’re back_

It wasn’t even twenty minutes later, when Jeno heard the weird beeping nose their elevator always made, and the loud sound of metal and multiple plastic bags. When a door closed, Jeno breathed in, put his coat on, and locked 506 behind himself. 

He only had to knock twice, and the door to 502 opened. Renjun’s face went from cautious, to a large smile when he noticed it was Jeno, to sudden shock. 

“Jeno, what— I was about to text you, I—”

“Your heater got fixed,” silence. Granted, it hadn’t been Jeno’s best opening sentence ever, but it was straightforward, just how he liked. Renjun’s face turned red, the color slowly creeping down his neck, but he still stayed silent. Jeno watched Renjun open his mouth and close it once, twice. Renjun scratched his ear, cleared his throat, and still said nothing, and Jeno couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Renjun had been speechless, but now he was also confused, and stuttering. 

“O-oh, my heater, yes, I— Chenle did text me back, I have to thank you for that, and he—”

“Got it fixed four days ago?” Jeno wondered if he should be concerned about the color on Renjun’s face, and whether it was natural for someone to turn that red. 

“He, he came with— maintenance, yes, on Wednesday they—” Jeno took a large step forward, into Renjun’s apartment, and Renjun trailed off while taking a few steps back. With no one holding the door anymore, it softly closed behind Jeno’s back. From this distance, Renjun had to look slightly up to Jeno, and not for the first time Jeno thought that perhaps this was his favorite distance to be from his neighbor. 

“But I asked you to stay,” Jeno’s voice was soft, and Renjun squeezed his eyes shut. 

“You did.”

“And you stayed,” Renjun released a breath, eyes still closed.

“I did,” and Jeno just so was glad Renjun had his eyes shut, because the face Jeno made at that moment to stop himself from chuckling would’ve surely ruined the moment.

“You didn’t have to. Your heater was fixed.”

“Yeah, I didn’t. It was.”

Jeno stepped closer. “Then why did you?” Jeno heard a sharp intake of breath from Renjun, and he figured that even though his eyes were closed, it was still perceptible they were only millimeters apart. 

Jeno expected Renjun to be evasive again. Now was a prime time for the half answers his neighbor loved giving, though Jeno figured that, by now, he had gotten pretty good at filling the gaps. 

What he didn’t expect, though, was for Renjun to open his eyes with a set, determined expression, and lean forward, making Jeno step back until his back reached the door. 

Renjun tilted his head, and Jeno swallowed. “Because I wanted to stay. With you.”

It was safe to say that Jeno’s mind stopped working right then and there. He was quickly looking from one of Renjun’s eyes to the other, worrying he might actually go cross eyed soon if he continued like that, neck so curved away from Renjun’s face that he might actually have the world’s most awful double chin at that moment. 

“Yo-you wanted to—”

“Stay,” Renjun let out a soft chuckle “With you,” Jeno watched as Renjun’s chuckle died down, his neighbor scanning his face, eyes eventually falling on Jeno’s mouth. 

And there it was again. The crossing of another threshold. If with anybody else, Jeno would have expected some sort of follow up to a sentence like that. Sure, it was a complete answer, but it left the other party with more questions than before, and Jeno wanted Renjun to make things clear, for once. But with the guy he liked in front of him like that, Jeno supposed he could get all the answers he wanted to hear just a bit later. 

Slowly wrapping both arms around Renjun’s waist, Jeno breathed in. “Then can you?” His voice was no louder than a whisper “Keep staying with me?” Renjun crossed his arms around Jeno’s neck, and Jeno felt goosebumps wherever Renjun’s fingers accidentally brushed against his skin. His neighbor smiled, softly nodding, and Jeno thought that perhaps that gesture already contained all the answers he wanted. 

It was a surprise (at least to Jeno) that Jisung and Chenle knew each other from the same intramural basketball club. Once he got over the initial shock of the realization that polar opposite sides of his life were acquaintances, Jeno felt an incoming headache. Because, really, if their hobby by themselves seemed to be to annoy the everliving lights out of Jeno, he felt a chill wondering how would it be when they joined forces. 

So far, though, everything was under control. Finals had just ended for Jeno, the latest out of all his friends, and that evening was supposed to be a celebration. All breakable furniture in Jeno’s living room had been moved to the side, and Chenle was turning a blind eye to the ones that remained. Jaemin had probably bought the entire beer stock from the convenience store a couple of streets away, and the dozens of cans and bottles were now being piled up into some unknown formation by Jisung on the floor. 

“So what you’re saying,” Chenle started, pointing at Renjun with a pleased smile “Is that I was your matchmaker.”

Jaemin snorted, stealing a bottle from Jisung’s precious pile. “Did we just listen to the same story? Was that all you got from it?” Chenle huffed an offended ‘hey’, which Jaemin ignored, turning back to the couple on the couch. “Don’t listen to him. I’m sorry you even had to go through that, Renjun. Winters here are a real bitch.”

“It’s alright,” Renjun shrugged, leaning back on the armrest, legs carelessly thrown over Jeno’s “I had plenty of help,” and the moment he looked over at Jeno, Jisung gave up on his piece of abstract art and made gagging noises.

“Turn down those heart eyes, please,” he grumbled “Some of us are single,” to which Renjun answered by flinging his beer can tab at Jisung. 

There was laughter and more playful teasing, cans and bottles being emptied one after the other. There was an inebriated Chenle pulling out the few pans Jeno had to try making ramen, and a no less inebriated Jaemin taking over when Chenle couldn’t rip open a packet of sauce. Jisung making snow angels with the beer caps strew on Jeno’s living room floor, a few rounds of video games, and comfortable, contemplative, drunk silence. Renjun’s hands interlocked with his, Jeno too preoccupied with making indiscernible patters with his thumb on Renjun’s wrists to really notice when Jaemin bid them goodbye, and Jisung followed, half carrying a long gone Chenle away. 

For a second he thought Renjun had fallen asleep, with slow breaths, head resting on Jeno’s shoulder. But suddenly Renjun looked up, and after a sleepy peck to Jeno’s lips, burrowed his head right back into the collar of Jeno’s sweater. If that wasn’t his default feeling around Renjun, Jeno would think that the way his heart swelled was because he was on the brink of a heart attack. He tucked Renjun’s hair behind his ear, and placed a soft kiss on the top of his head. Renjun hummed.

“You staying over today?” The question was a murmur. 

“You’re kidding, right? Your place got trashed,” Renjun giggled lightly, and lazily stood up, stretching his arms above his head until there was a pop. He then turned back to Jeno with an outstretched hand. “Stay at mine tonight? The new portable heater I ordered for my room got here this morning,” Jeno smiled, and he found he didn’t have to say anything as he took Renjun’s hand and locked 506 behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted this to be a short one-shot but it almost ended up being chaptered 🙃
> 
> anyway i really hope you got to enjoy this and that you’re staying safe!!
> 
> i’d love love to hear your thoughts on this thing <333 
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/mxtchxlatte)


End file.
